Lessons of Backpacking

Backpacking has its pros and cons. We were discussing this when we woke up today after our first night in a hotel.  It felt super luxurious to have so much space and a place for our belongings. 

Pros:

-It's great to know that everything you need and everything you have is literally on your back. Nothing more, nothing less. Quite liberating. 

-You get to be super creative in what you wear, use to bathe and keep you cool (that scarf you use to look fancy can be dipped in water and used on a super hot day).

-Super Nel and I kinda have a battle of who can be the most minimalist. You start to ask questions such as "Do we really need this extra tube of toothpaste?" "Should we cut the bar of soap in half?"

Cons:

-You unpack and pack your bag so many  times a day just to realize there's the same stuff inside that was there 2 hours ago. 

-What's on your back is all you've got. Nothing more and nothing less. 

-You start to get rid of stuff to make your bag lighter only to realize later you really needed that extra tube of toothpaste. 

-It kinda sucks to pack up your bag, zip it up, lock it and then realize your still in your PJ's and have to open it all up again. 

Tips:

-You can never pack enough ziplocks! I brought a ton of them in different sizes and they've come in very handy. 

-Buy a shamwow towel. Those bad boys work wonders in the shower and dry fast!

-Bring a Platypus or other collapsible water bottle (like a reusable Capri sun container but bigger). Saves space and works wonders. Everyone has asked us where we got it (try explaining REI in different languages). The water out here tastes great straight from the tap. And there's fountains everywhere. My favorite so far is German tap water. 

-What's the best $11 you'll ever spend and must have on any hot vacation/hike? Cooling neck scarf! We got ours with these special beads that soak up H20 and keep you cool. If I could only bring one thing from my back pack for the rest of the trip it would be this scarf. (REI again)

Medical:

-I'm always sick on vacations and my mom always taught me to bring meds and be prepared. So my bag is filled with pepto, anti diahrrea pills, Tylenol, benedryl, pain meds, cough drops, Mucinex, inhalers, nose spray, topical itch meds and zofran. We've used a lot of them so far. 

-In Germany I developed a sense of dizziness and feeling of falling forward. I thought maybe it was the plane ride. I picked up some homeopathic pills to help with vertigo from the pharmacy and they helped for awhile. But yesterday it got worse. A lot worse. And today the nausea is starting. I took a zofran in hopes of stopping it. We're attempting to climb the Duomo (tallest cathedral in all of Europe. It's almost 500 steps and most of it goes up in a spiral in a confined hot space). It would be so easy to say "Let's sit this out" and skip it due to dizziness. But one thing I've learned from boxing at Xplicit Fitness is that when you're almost down and out that is when you have to bring out your "desire, determination and discipline." I'm climbing that bad boy or fainting trying. Those of you back home don't worry-I'm hydrating like crazy! 

Our "dryer" invention in the hotel. We packed some duct tape around a pencil (about 3 feet) and a rope and we attached them to two chairs. Creativity at its finest!

We also brought little clips and safety pins. When something doesn't dry we pin it to our backpack and let it dry we we walk around during the day. That's a smart tip I learned from Dr. Leon at the Urgent Care. She did a long hike through Spain where you walk 7 hours a day to the next spot. We've added that to our bucket list too.